Onakoya Olugbengba, the father of Tunde Onakoya, has revealed that he initially was not in support of his son’s chess ambitions because he wanted him to be a doctor.
On April 17, Onakoya commenced his attempt to break the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest chess marathon.
He achieved the feat on April 20 at Times Square in New York City after playing for over 58 hours and winning every match.
Speaking about Tunde’s success on Wednesday, his father described him as a resilient person.
Onakoya said when his son was young, he would throw his chessboard away because he wanted him to become a doctor.
He also advised parents to never discourage their kids from doing something they love.
“To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel. If he says he wants to do something, he will succeed in doing it and that is why I love him,” he said.
“When he was very young and was playing chess, I will pack everything and throw them away and tell him I sent him to school but why are you playing chess?
“But I did not know that is what will make him popular like this. My advice to parents is that when your children are doing something, don’t discourage them.
“I wanted my son to be a doctor but he is playing chess. I thank God for everything.”
Tunde is the founder of Chess in Slums Africa, a nonprofit organisation.
He earlier revealed that he grew up in the slums, adding that playing chess allowed him to discover his potential.
The chess master also said the “ultimate goal” of his world record attempt is to raise the sum of $1,000,000.
He said the money will be used to transform the lives of underserved children across Africa.
As of the time of this report, the fundraiser has garnered over $127,000.
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